Hyundai Tucson Sport in South Africa

The Hyundai Tucson seems to be a very popular car in South Africa, it looks good, offers a good range of options and has an industry leading warranty. Those reasons alone maybe why Hyundai have sold over 7500 models in the last 13 months – not too shabby at all.

More and more vehicles nowadays feature a sports model with more aggressive styling and performance as there is a demand for these types of cars. So what if you loved the look and style and Tucson but wanted a little more mmph? Well up until recently Hyundai didn’t have an option, but now they do and it’s called the Tucson Sport – How imaginative.

With the Tucson Sport you get more power, 150 kW and 290 Nm of torque to be exact which are some very nice figures. Additionally, the Tucson Sport comes with a full body kit which doesn’t look great at all; it seems to have been stuck on the original body and comes across as a massive after-thought – the side skirts emphasise this. Matched to this are 19” black alloy wheels, unique to the Tucson Sport with low profiles tyres for better handling characteristics and visual appeal. Finally, Hyundai has added a new exhaust system which features four chrome pipes and an increase in engine noise to finish off the sports appearance.

The Tucson Sport will cost R499 900 which includes standard features such as the 8-inch infotainment system, navigation, Bluetooth, USB and Aux interfaces and a rear view camera. Auto A/C, cruise control and electronically adjusted leather seats are also included in the price along with Hyundai’s 7-year/200 000 km warranty, roadside assistance for 5 years or 150 000 km, and a 5-year/90 000 km service plan.

Personally, parts of the Tucson Sport look a little cheap and it feels like a rushed idea. As always, a full review will come soon.